Irma

Irma is 36 years old and lives in Tskaltubo District with her husband, their two children and her father-in-law who receives a retirement pension. Irma has requested a loan from local financial institutions several times for a family business start-up, but without any success. Her loan requests have been rejected each time, due to low family income and their poor living conditions.

The only source of income for the family is the small amount earned by Irma’s husband who works locally as an artisan. He earns a total of 250 Laris per month. It is hardly enough for food for the family. According to Credo's estimations, the family belongs to the subsistence poor category.

Irma has requested a loan from Credo to start a family business. She has now been approved for a loan within the framework of the new joint initiative of Kiva and Credo. The start-up loan program aims to provide business start-up and re-start-up credits with soft conditions to poor rural people who do not have access to credit products. These poor rural people are regarded as “high risk borrowers” due to their low income.

With this loan, Irma will begin trading in clothing. She plans to purchase clothing at wholesale prices and then resell at higher prices. This will increase her family's income. The new business initiative, financed with the Kiva start-up loan, will significantly improve her family's living conditions.

Additional Information

More information about this loan

This loan is part of Credo's startup loan program targeting particularly vulnerable clients who live at the subsistence level and have been unable to obtain credit due to lack of income from an existing business. This program offers them a longer repayment term and an annual interest rate that is 5% lower than the standard interest rate. By funding this loan, you are supporting a program that gives borrowers a second chance to start and grow small businesses. This has the potential to alleviate the effects of poverty, significantly improving borrowers' incomes and their families' quality of life. Learn more about Credo's startup loan program on the Kiva Blog.

About LLC Micro Finance Organization Credo

LLC Credo (Credo) is a microfinance organization in Georgia that provides sustainable credit services to alleviate poverty in rural areas, including business loans, agriculture loans, household loans, crop insurance and more. Kiva lenders’ funds are used to help the organization expand its outreach to even more entrepreneurs, farmers and households in remote areas.